Cutting tree branches is a necessary maintenance task that removes obstructive, dead, damaged, and diseased limbs. Although it seems relatively straightforward, this job requires skill and experience, or you could end up making several pruning mistakes that jeopardize your trees’ health and visual appeal.
Tree pruning in Louisville, KY, is one of the services we offer at Tree Care Inc. Below, we share the cutting mistakes people make and what you can do to avoid them.
Mistake #1: You Make Too Many Small Cuts
With pruning, you don’t want to make lots of big cuts. Each one is a wound that the tree will expend energy to heal. You might make many small cuts to avoid this problem but that’s not ideal either.
Snipping the tips of branches is called stubbing out, and it’s one of the top pruning mistakes people make. Pruning encourages healthy growth. However, when you stub out trees, each cut causes several new branches to grow from the wound, leading to branch overcrowding.
Solution
Make a few large cuts instead of many small ones. Sometimes, it helps to wait until early fall to identify the strongest limb and remove competing branches.
Mistake #2: You’re Over-Pruning Without a Clear Objective
Regardless of whether you’re pruning with big cuts, your efforts won’t matter unless you have a clear goal. Do you want to increase fruit and flower production? Do you need to remove dead or damaged limbs to promote healthy growth and eliminate hazards?
Unless you know why you’re cutting branches, you risk over-pruning. In a worst-case scenario, you could remove too much from a tree during its growing season, leaving it with not enough leaves to produce food.
Solution
Only prune trees on your property with a clear purpose. Take time to understand their needs and ensure you make the right cuts to reach your goal.
Mistake #3: You’re Topping Trees on Your Property
Topping refers to removing the uppermost portion of a tree. Usually people do this when their trees outgrow their areas.
It might seem like a simple solution to a common problem, but tree topping can jeopardize a plant’s health and your property. Removing too much of a tree’s upper section puts undue stress on the entire plant. The excessive stress could weaken the tree enough for it to fall over, which could cause significant property damage or injuries if it topples in your yard.
Solution
Never top a tree. If the plant’s growth is getting out of hand, contact an arborist who can determine whether trimming it is best or if it needs removal.
You should also be careful where you plant trees on your property. Certain species grow tall and wide so ensure that anything you plant has enough space to grow well into maturity.
Mistake #4: You Make Flush Cuts
A flush cut is when you prune a branch flush with its primary limb or tree trunk. The wound will look clean and neat, but the cut removes the branch collar. Without it, the tree can’t close its wound and heal.
Solution
Use the three-cut method when pruning to avoid flush cuts and other pruning mistakes:
- Make a shallow cut on a branch’s underside about two inches from the collar.
- Make a second cut about four inches from the collar on top of the branch to remove it and leave a stub.
- Make a final cut beyond the collar to remove the stub.
Mistake #5: You’re Pruning at the Wrong Time
It might make sense to prune in the fall when branches have more exposure due to dying leaves. Unfortunately, the declining temperatures will kill the new growth that the pruning stimulates.
You may also accidentally cut off buds for dormant leaves and flowers. Without the buds, trees will use excessive energy to bloom in spring.
Solution
Consider pruning in the winter as most species are dormant. The cuts will be less stressful to the trees and you can see damaged branches better.
Mistake #6: Your Cutting Technique Is Incorrect
Taking the wrong approach can create flush cuts or stub cuts, which leave too much dead or decaying material on a stub. Both methods can lead to decay and eventual tree death.
Your cutting technique also includes the tools you use. You’re more likely to damage your trees if you use dull pruners or loopers on them. Rough cuts from dull blades can cause bigger wounds due to the bark shedding around the cut.
Solution
If you’re going to prune a tree, make sure your tools are sharp. Use them to cut branches with the three-cut method to avoid improper cutting techniques.
Mistake #7: You Choose Not To Prune Your Trees
Since many trees grow in the environment without human interference or help, you might assume the plants on your property should grow unencumbered. You may also think that cutting branches is too harmful to trees, so you choose not to prune.
Although pruning creates tree wounds, it’s a necessary service to promote healthy plant growth. Without it, disease and decay can spread, trees can overgrow and affect other structures, and they could negatively impact your landscape’s aesthetics.
Solution
Hire a local tree care service to prune your trees. These professionals can evaluate your plants’ health and create a reasonable pruning and trimming schedule. They also have the expertise to cut branches correctly, which minimizes harm.
Get the Help You Need for Your Trees From Our Experts
Instead of pruning at the wrong time, flush cutting, ignoring tree health, or making other pruning mistakes, put your plants’ health in the care of our experts. At Tree Care Inc., we proudly offer some of the best tree care services in and around Louisville, Kentucky. Our crew includes licensed and insured technicians and a certified arborist passionate about improving tree health and beauty. We have all the tools and expertise necessary for trimming trees safely. Call Tree Care Inc. in Louisville today at (502) 326-3661 to request an estimate.
